William d



(No Model.)

W. D. ANDREWS.

APPARATUS USED 1N SINKING WELLS.

No. 306,799. Patented Oct. 21, 1884.

N. PElERs, Pnaw'lilnngmpw. washington, n.V c.

Unrrnn STATES PATENT ritten.

VILLIAM D. ANDREVS, OF BROOKHAVEN, NEV YORK.

APPARATUS USED IN SINKING WELLS.

SPECIFICATION 'forming part of Letters Patent No, 306,799, dated October 21, 1884:.

Application filed February 25, 1884.

and of which the serial number is 122,025, the.

well being of such size that the water may be taken from it by means of a pump or a pump suction-pipe introduced downward within it to a point below the water-level, instead of by a pump connected with its upper end, as has been done heretofore.

rIhe well described in my aforesaid application consists of a cylinder closed for the greater part of its length, and Ahaving openings for the admission of water formed either in the side of the lower section of the cylinder or by small tube or drive wells extending through the closed bottom of the cylinder downward into the earth below. This cylinder is sunk by excavating the Vearth within it until its lower end is somewhat below ,the level of water in the earth, and is sunk the remainder of the distance desired by closing its upper end in an air-tight manner and exhausting the air from it, the earth and water which enter through the lower open end of the cylinder being removed from time to time.

The object of my invention presented in this application is to provide means whereby the water will be kept from iiowing into the tube or cylinder through the side openings during sinking, and also to afford a smooth throat or passage, through which the cylinder receives earth within it as it is forced down, by atmospheric pressure.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a vertical section of a well such as is shown and described in my aforesaid application. Fig. 2 is a similar section of such wellwith my present invention applied and before it is completed; and Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, except that there are no openingsin the lower section o f the cylinder.'

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

(No model.)

A designates the cylinder, which maybe composed of cast-iron sections united by internal flange-joints, a, and the lower portion, A, of which is made flaring from the point a downward. i

The wells or cylinders shown in Figs. l and 2 have openings b in their flaring portions A; but that shown in Fig. 3 has no such openings. The openings b in the flaring perforated portion A are protected by a screen, c, of brass or other reticulated metal, which prevents earth and sand from closing or entering through said openings. At the lower end of the flaring portion A' is a shoe or tip piece, B, having a sharp edge, which will enter the ground freely, and which is contracted upward, its diameter at the upper edge or top being less than the internal diameter of the iianges c. v

The operation of sinking the well and its construction are very fully described in my aforesaid application, Serial No. 122,025, and are not here claimed. I rst sink the cylinder by excavating within it until the lower end thereof is below the level of water inthe earth, and I then close the upper end of the cylinder in an airtight lmanner and exhaust the air therefrom, thus forcing the cylinder downward by atmospheric pressure. From time to time I remove from the cylinder the earth and water which have been received within it through its open lower end, either by a centrifugal pump having its suction-pipe extend ing through the closed head in an air-tight manner, or by removing the head and then taking out the earth and water in any suitable manner. When the iiarin g lower portion, A', has water-inlet openings b, as shown in Figs. l and 2, itis of course desirable, in sinking by atmospheric pressure, to prevent the entrance of water through said openings, and to compel all water and earth which are received in the cylinder to enter through the open lower end thereof, and it is also desirable that there should be a smooth throat through which pass earth and water enteringl or received within the cylinder. Vhen there are no openings in the ilaring portion A', as in Fig. 3, the water cannot enter except at the open lower end; but it is still desirable to afford a smooth throat i'or the passage of water and earth. To this end I provide a liningroo tube or guard, C, which is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and which fits at its lower end outside the contracted upper end of the shoe B, and extends therefrom upward to a point above the openings b, or thereabout. The exterior of this guard or lining-tube is fitted to the internal flanges, a, at the point a, where the downward iiare of the cylinder A commences, and said guard or lining-tube forms a smooth throat, which facilitates the passage of the earth in sinking the well. After the cylinder has reached therproper depth, the guard or li n.- ingtube C is removed, and a perforated tube, D, covered and protected by a strainer, c, like the strainer c, is inserted downward into its place, as shown in Fig. l. The guard or lining-tube G has a slight downward taper, which is very desirable for two reasons. lVhen the said guard is to be replaced by a tube and strainer, D c, which are supplemental to the main cylinder and strainer c, the said tube and strainer D c, if made with a taper correspending to the guard or lining-tube C, may be readily inserted downward into place and come to a tight iit without abrasion or injury to the strainer c',- and in any case the downwardly-tapering or upwardlyilaring guard or lining-tube affords greater facility for the passage of earth than would a straight cylindric guard or tube. I do not, however, limit my invention to a tapering guard or lining-tube.

In Fig. l,whieh represents acompleted well, the lower end is closed by a head, E, which is fitted to the upper end or edge of the shoe B, and secured thereto by bolts or otherwise; but supplemental tube or drive wells may be eX tended from the lower head or bottom, E, downward into the earth, and this may be done whether there be openings b in the ilaring portion A', as shown in Fig. l, or whether the said flaring portion be closed or imperferate, as shown in Fig. 3. Such supplemental tube or drive wells are shown in my applica tion Serial No. 122,025, and as l here make no claim to them, l have not thoughtit necessary to show them.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. rlhe combination, with a well consisting of a cylinder or tube having a downwardlylaring lower portion and an upwardly-con traeted shoe or tip within said lower portion, of a guard or lining-tube extending upward from said upwardly-contracted shoe or tip, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

2. The combination, with a well consisting of acylinder or tubehaving a downwardlydaring lower portion and an upwardly-con tracled shoe or tip within said lower portion, of an upwardly-flaring guard `or lining-tube extendin g from said upwardly-contracted shoe` or tip and iitted to the said cylinder at the top of said flaring lower portion, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

3. The combination, with a well consisting of a cylinder or tube composed of sections united by internal flange-j oints,and having at and within the lower end an upwardlycon tracted shoe or tip, the smaller diameter of which is less than the internal diameter of said langejoints, of an upwardly-flaring guard or lining-tube litting the exterior of said shoe or tip and the interior of one ot' said {langejoints, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

4. The combination, with awell consisting of a cylinder or tube having openings in its lower portion covered by a strainer, of a removable guard or lining-tube extending upward within said cylinder to a point above said openings, and serving to prevent the entrance or' water through said openings, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

5. The co1nbination,with a well consisting of a cylinder or tube having a perforated downwardlyilaringlower portion and an upwardly contracted shoe or tip within said lower portion, ot' an upwardly-flaring guard or lining-tube removably fitted to the exterior of said upwardly-contracted shoe or tip, and also removably fitted to the interior of said cylinder or tube above its flaring portion, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

6. The combination, with awell consisting of the cylinder A, composed of sections united by internal ilangejoints, and having the downwardly-larin g perforated and strainer-proteet ed portion A', of the upwardly-contracted shoe or tip B and the upwardly-Haring guard or lining-tube C, removably fitted to the eX- terior of said shoe or tip and to the interior of one of said llange-joints above the flaring portion A', substantially as and lfor the purpose herein described.

WM. D. ANDREWS.

Witnesses:

SAI-:Air N. liinsnam., Fannie HAYNns.

ICO 

